EPISTEMOLOGICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH

All research has an epistemological presupposition. This epistemological presupposition lies in the fact that research being a system of discovery answers the epistemological question: is knowledge possible? Research offers new explanation for what is hitherto hidden or offers new perspective on things already known. This paper using the tool of critical analysis will show that research essentially answers the sceptical question that has suggested over the centuries that indubitable knowledge is not possible. The paper will do this first by tracing the fundamental epistemological understanding of knowledge which is what research is about. Secondly the paper will show that researches that offer concrete solutions to concrete problems consoles humanity by suggesting that some knowledge, albeit tentative, is possible and useful to humanity.